Three girls were killed in a car accident. It happened on the same street in the same tricycle. The three families suffered the same pain of loss. But the compensation paid to one of the girls who had a rural “hukou”, a permanent resident in the rural area, was less than half of the other two with the urban “hukou”, permanent residents in the urban area.

The event was titled “Life was marked with different prices”, and soon became a highlight. There are many varied reasons why it attracted such an enormous attention from the public. It could lie in the fact it was newsworthy in its own: the sensational title, the vast difference going on after the death of the three girls. Or it could be because people’s heart went out to their three girls who died in their blooming and their parents who suffered the pain of loss of their beloved children. But more important, it could be more because of the social background under which it happened. Under the urban-rural dual institution, people living in the countryside are discriminated institutionally. The discrimination has become so serious to a point that if nothing was done about it, little improvement would be made in terms of economical prosperity, citizens’ awareness of human rights and equality.